POITIERS. rior, but a rather heavy façade. There are sev- eral very old and interesting churches, such as the Temple Saint Jean, a baptistery built in the seventh century, and one of the oldest Christian monuments in France; the Church of Notre Dame la Grande, a Romanesque building of the eleventh century, with an elaborately decorated façade; and the Church of Sainte Radegonde, founded in the sixth century, rebuilt in the eleventh century, and containing the sareophagus of the saint. Among the noteworthy buildings and places are the fine modern Hotel-de-Ville and the Parc de Blossac; the latter, situated at the southern end of the town, is bordered by medieval ramparts and commands a fine view. At the northern end, near Pont Joubert, is a colossal gilded statue of Notre Dame des Dunes. Poitiers has a university with faculties of law, science, and philosophy, and a preparatory school of medicine and phar- macy. The municipal library contains 65,000 volumes and 460 manuscripts. There are mu- seums of art, archæology, and natural history. Population, in 1896, 38,518; in 1901, 39,886. 156 and China, and naturalized in Southern Europe. It is often called garget, pigeonberry, and seoke, and is found generally in good soil of waste Poitiers was the capital of the Pictones or Pictavi, whence its modern name. The Romans called it Limonum. There are still a number of Gallic and Roman remains in the town and vi- cinity. Christianity was introduced in the third century and about 353 Saint Hilary became the first Bishop of Poitiers. In the fifth century the town fell into the hands of the Visigoths, whose King. Alaric II., was defeated by Clovis in battle near Poitiers in 507. In 732 Charles Martel checked the advance of the Saracens in the world- famous battle fought in the neighborhood. Near Poitiers, during the Hundred Years' War, the English, under Edward the Black Prince, gained a notable victory over the French under their King, John 11., the Good, September 19, 1356. The French, whose forces outnumbered the Eng- lish more than five to one, opened the battle with a furious charge, but were thrown back by a volley from the English archers, and totally routed by the onset of the English men-of-arms, The slaughter of French knights was large. King John was taken prisoner. See Porro. Consult Ledain, Histoire sommaire de la ville de Poitiers (Fontenay-le-Comte, 1892). POITOU, pwä’too'. A former province of Western France, now included within the depart- ments of Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, and Vendée. The capital was Poitiers (q.v.). The ancient inhab- itants of the region were the Pietavi or Pictones. It was overrun by the Franks in 507. Charles the Great placed Poitou under the jurisdiction of a count whose descendants, at the beginning of the tenth century, assumed the title of dukes of Aquitaine. It came into the possession of the English kings through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with Henry II. (q.v.), but was seized by the French King Philip Augustus in 1204. England held it again for about ten years after the Peace of Bretigny (1360), following the battle of Poitiers (1356). In 1416 it was per- manently united with the French Crown. POKANOKET. A North American Indian tribe. See WAMPANOAG. POKER. POKE (Phytolacca decandra). A perennial herb of the natural order Phytolaccacee. native of North America. but distributed also in North- ern Africa, the Azores, and the Hawaiian Islands FLOWERING STEM AND FRUIT OF POKE. places, as uncultivated fields, often attaining a height of more than six feet. See PHYTOLACCA, and Colored Plate of POISONOUS PLANTS. POKER, or DRAW POKER. A game of cards said to be derived from primero or prime, a favorite English game of the sixteenth century. In France during the following century primero became ambigu, and a little later another varia- tion, called brag, sprang up in the west of Eng- land, from which poker is more directly descended in its American form. The game may be played by from two to six persons. A full pack is used and five cards are dealt to each player, one at a time, after which, beginning at the dealer's left, each one may diseard any or all of his cards, calling for as many new ones as he discards. This is the draw, and the player holding the most valuable hand is the win- ner. Beginning with the lowest, the values are as follows: a pair, two pairs, three of a kind (i.e., three cards of the same valuc), a straight, or five cards in regular order (in determining the value of straights,' the ace ranks either below the two or above the king, but stands at the end); a flush, i.e.. where all five cards are of the same suit; a full house, fyll hand, or full, which con- sists of three of a kind, and a pair together; four of a kind; a straight flush, in which the cards which the cards of the same suit are the highest are all of the same suit; and the royal flush, in obtainable. Of the various methods of keeping score in the game of poker the following is the simplest: Before the play is opened counters are divided in equal value among the players. Before examining a hand each player deposits in the pool a value in counters previously agreed upon. This is the 'ante.' after which each player in suc- cession after looking at his hand determines whether or not he will play. If he decides to
